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LD LANGER

Mon May 16 2011, 07:46PM

Registered Member #3824 Joined: Sun Apr 10 2011, 08:29PM
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 54

Hello forum,

So I just joined here a month ago but I have been following the pupman list for many years so I am no rookie to the HV community. I have built 2 coils (one in high school and one at the end of my degree), as well as some ignition coil / flyback drivers. Last year I acquired my EE degree with a focus on power and controls. I am from Saskatchewan (probly never heard of it) and right now I work in Edmonton at a consulting firm doing commercial electrical building design. For my entire degree I had always thought that I would get my degree, work in the industry for a while and find out any areas that could use obvious improvement / innovation (electrically) and design, prototype, patent, and eventually attempt to market a product. I have been working for over 4 months and have noticed many areas that I could eventually work on.
I am basically wondering: is this just a pipe dream? I mean I do consider myself generally intelligent and good with people, but I mean I'm basing a lot of decisions regarding the future on this path.
How did/does everyone else here with similar education feel about this. Did/does anyone else here have similar aspirations and what was the outcome?

Like I feel like I have 2 options here:

1. Continue on this dream of becoming a patent whore (with mixed results).
2. Give up on that and work up the corporate ladder at some engineering firm.
3. Get drunk as hell and stop worrying about shit like that, you're too young and naive.

I would love to hear opinions and or anecdotes of similar thoughts.

Regards,

Daniel from Canada

Nicko

Mon May 16 2011, 08:04PM

Registered Member #1334 Joined: Tue Feb 19 2008, 04:37PM
Location: Nr. London, UK
Posts: 615

LD LANGER wrote ...

Like I feel like I have 2 options here:

1. Continue on this dream of becoming a patent whore (with mixed results).
2. Give up on that and work up the corporate ladder at some engineering firm.
3. Get drunk as hell and stop worrying about shit like that, you're too young and naive.

I would love to hear opinions and or anecdotes of similar thoughts.

Hi Daniel.

A good starting point as a credible engineer is learning to count

As someone who trained as an engineer (an EE) but was never good at doing what they were told, I'd say get experience at someone else's cost (which you are doing) whilst formulating your plans for world domination.

In my experience of running a range of businesses, some more successful than others(!), I'd say:

You need a lot of luck
You need good timing
You need to work damn hard
You need a thick skin
You need to be able to handle pain
You need to be prepared for failure
You need to be completely focussed
You need to keep it simple
You need to know who to trust
You need good advice
You need to be good at marketing
You need to understand your market (not the same as the previous point)
You need to be good at what you do

...probably in that order. Oh, and you need even more good luck.

Sulaiman

Mon May 16 2011, 08:05PM

Registered Member #162 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3140

to me, the fact that you asked this question, and have not already gone off at some tangent
means that you may not have the business drive required for success.
You may need to team up with a more driven business oriented person.
This is not to say that you will not succeed but you will need to adopt a more go-get'em attitude.

I am not a business person, too laid-back and scared.
I have known quite a few successful entrepreneurs,
even been the guy in the background that does the actual work

You are just starting ... don't be afraid ... go for it.

(engineers tend to be poor business people - always considering consequences)

Start a business NOW, anything, just determine for yourself if that's you.
Don't worry about patents yet, make some money and see if it excites you,
if it doesn't then go for the corporate ladder.

my 2cents worth.

P.S. at least one 4HV member needs a better mouse trap.

LD LANGER

Mon May 16 2011, 08:06PM

Registered Member #3824 Joined: Sun Apr 10 2011, 08:29PM
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 54

Nicko wrote ...

A good starting point as a credible engineer is learning to count

Sorry, that was meant as a joke

LD LANGER

Mon May 16 2011, 08:18PM

Registered Member #3824 Joined: Sun Apr 10 2011, 08:29PM
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 54

Thanks for the responses.

As for drive, I mean I have not the comparison base required nor the experience to gauge whether I would be a successful entrepreneur. I'm old enough to know that to make money you need to spend money, so I understand the considerable risk when entering this line of work, and I am completely fine with that. I think that gaining knowledge in the specific market that I wish to tap into is not a difficult task, considering the availability of information and my own time.
The difference lies in the fact that I have no intention of starting and operating a business. I wish to work my engineering day job and in my own spare time, design better / more efficient / more ergonomic / etc. products ranging from all ends of my experience spectrum. I have planned to then approach already guaranteed profitable companies offering partnership in said product manufacture.
Keep in mind this is a scenario thought up in my head and I have no way of knowing if this is a realistic plan. There in lies the problem: Am I one of thousands of engineers with the exact same plan (enter luck), or is my generation out of luck when it comes to new product development?

Thanks again.

ps. apologies for the double post forgot to edit above.

Nicko

Mon May 16 2011, 08:18PM

Registered Member #1334 Joined: Tue Feb 19 2008, 04:37PM
Location: Nr. London, UK
Posts: 615

LD LANGER wrote ...

Nicko wrote ...

A good starting point as a credible engineer is learning to count

Sorry, that was meant as a joke

...as was my response...

Adam Munich

Tue May 17 2011, 01:16AM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

Never giver up on your dreams, for if you do not persue your dreams how can you say that you have accomplished your goals? The world famous jerk Thomas Edison once said that genius is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration, and he was correct. If you'd like to become a patent whore then look at everything and dream up a way that it can be improved. Write down all your ideas and cross out the ones that are not reasonable and proceed to prototype the ones that are.

I always keep a paper in my pocket which I write down all my ideas, and over the course of the last two months I have dreamed up a few that can and probably will make me a bit of money; Ideas which I will prototype and attempt to market.

Those who give up on their dreams have nothing to look forward to but climbing the corporate ladder, but those who persue their dreams build that ladder for others to climb.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Tue May 17 2011, 01:35AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

As an employed engineer I know that work is a real pain in the ass, drives me crazy quite a bit, and I'm wondering if I'm cut out for aerospace right now, but I have to say this to you:

1. Bills pile up quick.
2. Dreams don't pay those bills
3. Money left over from bills is venture capital, eg research money

So seperate it into two categories, primary income and secondary income, that is until secondary income is greater then primary, and you're off and running.
Primary income is the job you have now, and secondary income comes from the stuff you do on the side and sell, your private business.

magnet18

Tue May 17 2011, 01:43AM

Registered Member #3766 Joined: Sun Mar 20 2011, 05:39AM
Location:

Posts: 624

From what I've seen in my 17 years, there are 2 kinds of successful people, those who give up on their dreams and settle for a laid back life in middle class america, or those who refuse to let the world rip their dreams from them, work their asses off, and eventually see it through, or die trying.
Since I'm sitting in in my garage covered in sawdust from the wood I'm using to build a rack to hold power supply units I'm going to use to build a fusor before I graduate, I would like to think I'm going to be the second type.

I like the last paragraph of grenadiers post, but Edison was a jerk. Tesla was a nice guy, look where it got him. He died alone and crazy in a hotel. Enterprise is full of that, hopefully we can get some exceptions, but to make it AND be moral, it takes a lot more work. Bring it.

Chip Fixes

Tue May 17 2011, 02:28AM

Registered Member #3781 Joined: Sat Mar 26 2011, 02:25AM
Location:
Posts: 701

magnet18 wrote ...

those who give up on their dreams and settle for a laid back life in middle class america

sounds like my parents

except it's not so laid back anymore because my dad lost his job a couple years ago so he had to get a shit job because the bills need to get paid.

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